Pastor Billy Myron continues the Christian Life series on Satan and demons by addressing bitterness as a final specific attack before providing an overview of Satan’s methodology and the proper defense. Bitterness corresponds to a Greek term used of something that tastes bitter or is inedible, as when Wormwood makes the waters bitter in Revelation 8:11 or the little scroll turns bitter in the stomach in Revelation 10. In Acts 8 Simon the sorcerer, formerly regarded as the great power of God, seeks to purchase the authority to impart the Holy Spirit after Philip’s ministry produces widespread belief; Peter perceives that he is in the gall of bitterness because his former prominence has been displaced. James 3:14 warns that bitter envy and strife in the heart produce boasting and lying against the truth, illustrating how one attitude can lead to further sin. Colossians 3:19 commands husbands not to be bitter against their wives, and Hebrews 12:15 cautions against a root of bitterness that troubles the individual and defiles many. Ephesians 4:31 simply requires that all bitterness be put away.
The series then surveys Satan’s approach in contrast to the sin nature. The flesh operates as an emotional principle driven by appetite; Satan and demons are intelligent persons who employ a mental strategy. Second Corinthians 2:11 refers to his devices, a mental term denoting thoughts and conclusions. Ephesians 6:11 calls believers to stand against the wiles or methods of the devil and to put on the whole armor because the enemy is crafty, alters his attacks, and often uses initial moves as setups for a larger goal. Ephesians 4:14 describes the slight of men and cutting craftiness that lies in wait to deceive, while Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as the one who deceives the whole world. Second Timothy 2:26 shows that some are taken captive by him at his will and held in the snare of the devil.
Satan’s goals include persuading people to live independently of God, as seen when he told Eve she would be like God knowing good and evil (Genesis 3) and when he himself declared he would ascend and be like the Most High (Isaiah 14). He misrepresents reality through outright lies, through pride that clouds judgment (Ezekiel 28; 1 Timothy 3:6), and through fear. In Luke 22 Satan desired to sift the disciples; Peter’s subsequent threefold denial arose from an exaggerated perception of danger even though John entered and left the same house without harm. In Acts 5 Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the price of their property; Peter declared that Satan had filled their hearts to lie, yet the deception began with concern over what others would think rather than with an appetite for partial giving. Peter reminded them that the money remained under their own authority, exposing the false reasoning.
Defense against Satan therefore differs from victory over the sin nature. Believers are positionally dead to the sin nature and alive to God; they reckon that fact true, put the members to death, and have crucified the flesh with its passions (Colossians 3; Galatians 5:24). Against Satan they are to be sober and vigilant, resist him steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8–9), submit to God so that the devil will flee (James 4:7), and put on the whole armor of God in order to stand against his schemes (Ephesians 6:10–18). Dead people do not wrestle; the armor is a mental alignment employed while the believer remains alive to this particular enemy. The next session will examine the individual pieces of that armor.
